Articles tagged with: humility
Korach: Look, I’m Humble
Now Really!
After the passing of Rabbi Yehudah, the third century sage who edited the Mishnah, his colleagues proclaimed that the age of humility had come to an end. Several centuries later the Babylonian sage Rabbi Yosef offered a correction. Don’t say humility has died, he asserted, because there is I. …
Shlach: What I Learned From A Tree
The Holy Tree
Oh, the tales trees could tell if only trees could tell tales.There is a large tree in my backyard under whose branches many little dramas have played out. Many a toddler has crawled under its branches, many a back has leaned against its trunk, over the years the …
Vayikra: When Small Is Great
The Humble Moses
The book of Leviticus begins with the sweeping majesty of Moses’ first entry into the tabernacle. “Vayikra,” G-d called unto Moses and invited him to the Tent of Meeting. Uplifting and inspiring as the moment was, Moses, understood that small is great, received his honor in abject humility. In …
Passover: A Matzah Meditation
What is Matzah?
Almost everyone knows the answer to that one; it is the cracker like bread, round or square, hand or machine made, that we eat on Passover. True enough, say the Jewish mystics, but wrong answer; matzah is bread of faith. (1) How so?
Tweet
Vayikra: Humble Growth
The Small Aleph
Letters in the Hebrew alphabet also serve as numerals. Aleph, the first letter of the alphabet, represents the numeral one. It is thus fitting that Elokim, G-d`s name and Anochi, the first word of the Ten Commandments, begin with the Aleph, which represents true and singular oneness. (1)
Tweet
Chanukah: Lights of Joy and Inspiration
The Night And The Light
As dusk gathers and darkness approaches, night falls and gloom encroaches,
we seek inspiration anew. What is a person to do?
The answer is simple at this time of year, light a candle and banish the fear.
Tweet
Rosh Hashanah: The Shofar – Humility and Strength
Three Blasts
On the holiday of Rosh Hashanah we sound three variations of Shofar blasts. tekiah, a long blast, shevarim and teruah, variations of short blasts. Each set of blasts begins with a tekiah, followed by a shevarim or teruah, and concludes with a tekiah. The shevarim and teruah are thus …
Tu B’av: When Smaller Is Bigger
Self Doubt
Have you ever made a snap decision that radically altered your lifestyle? I’m talking about deciding to move to a place you were visiting, changed careers midcourse, or perhaps seeing something attractive in a particular teacher and making a snap decision to transfer your child to her class.
Tweet
